War is never easy, especially if you're just a kid
by JulyvsDaniel
Summary: Richard Greyson is not prepared for the deaths of his parents. When he is left orphaned and starving, his only hope arrives late. Richard may have to take steps that are more extreme than anything he had ever dreamed to survive war. AU. I dea from Nagato's life in Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters. The "dog" is a miniature Wolf. AU. Got the idea from Nagato's story of his early life in Naruto.

* * *

Just a Mistake

Richard Greyson woke up when something smashed downstairs. He got out of bed and silently crept through the house to the stairs. He had always prided himself at his ability to be silent and his gymnastics abilities, not that anyone would ever learn about those. He got picked on enough at school.

When he reached the stairs, he saw that the door was open and a window in it had been smashed in. His parents came out of their rooms and they all quietly descended the stairs. They crept to the door to the kitchen and saw that there was a soldier pigging out at their table. The family silently crept past the door and were almost to the front door when Richard accidentally bumped into an end table and a lamp smashed to the floor.

The soldier sprinted out of the kitchen thinking the family was his enemy. He threw a bowie knife into Richard's father's chest then shot his mother in the head. Richard fell backward against the wall shaking in fear and curled into the fetal position. Lightning flashed suddenly and the soldier dropped his gun. He flicked on the light and sank to his knees.

"Dear God," the soldier said. "Civies. Listen Kid...I didn't know who you were...I'm so sorry. It was just a mistake."

Richard stood and started to run for the door.

"Kid wait!" the soldier said running after him.

He grabbed Richard's arm and Richard did the only thing that a scared ten year old who had just experienced the murder of his family would do, he grabbed the knife from his father's chest and drove it into the soldier's heart. The soldier stumbled back staring at the knife then collapsed. Richard began sobbing and after about three hours, he went to his room and got dressed then got his rain coat and went to the kitchen. He knew he couldn't stay in his house and he had no family. Plus he was scared of other soldiers arresting him for killing that one.

The soldier had cleaned the kitchen out completely. Richard left with nothing but the clothes on his back and headed for the city. He lived just outside of a huge village that was actually closer to a city called Gotham. Gotham was at war with another village called Star City. Richard had no idea why it was called that but chalked it up to people being full of themselves. Soldiers on both sides of the war often ransacked any and every house near themselves so that they could eat but Gotham soldiers only ransacked the houses that were deserted.

Richard walked along at a fairly steady pace but the trip was three days long to get there and he hadn't eaten in hours already. He stumbled but kept going. After another day, he barely had the strength to continue and was beginning to get a cold since it hadn't stopped raining in weeks.

Richard collapsed in a puddle and coughed but when he tried to push himself up, he slipped and splashed back down.

"So tired," Richard said. "Can't get up."

Richard's vision faded and he fell into blackness. A moment later something rough but slimy touched his face and he shot up. He wiped wet hair out of his face and saw a young husky sitting beside the puddle. It was so thin that he could see its bones but when he looked at it, it wagged its tail and barked happily.

"Hey boy," Richard said. "Thanks for waking me up, but I have nothing for you. I can't even feed myself because there's nothing to eat."

The dog cocked its head at him and barked again then walked over and at next to him.

"Okay," Richard said smiling. "You can tag along."

Richard stood and he and his new pet began to walk toward Gotham. When Richard finally reached the city, he was starving and looked a bit like his dog as far as size.

Richard knocked on the first door of a good size house that he came too. The door opened, but as soon as the one eye that peeked out through the crack saw Richard, it slammed shut again. This process was repeated at every house Richard came to until the last house.

"Hello?" Richard called weakly from starvation. "Please, is there anything you can spare me? It's been days since I last ate. Please, I'm starving."

The door opened a crack and a man looked out. This time Richard could see that the man was muscular and looked sympathetic at the same time as looking disgusted.

"There's nothing here for you!" the man said harshly. "Now get away from my door! Try someplace else!"

With that, he slammed the door so hard that the windows rattled.

"But, this is the last building in the city," Richard said.

THE END

* * *

Read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.

* * *

Even

"But, this is the last building in the city."

Richard stumbled off of the stoop and regained his balance in front of the window. He looked in and saw that the man had a wife and a young boy, and all of them were gorging on meals of one entire pizza and a stack of cheeseburgers each. Richard sighed then continued walking along the road away from the city. He walked steadily through the night and at some point it stopped raining but he barely noticed. He stopped at a few houses along the way but was turned away at each. Finally, as the moon began to set, he collapsed. He didn't try to push himself up. He knew he wouldn't have the energy.

It began to rain again as he lay there and he couldn't help but let tears leak from his eyes. Then someone walked up next to him and stopped. The person knelt and held out a loaf of fresh bread. Richard looked up at who it was and saw that it was a young girl no more than a year older than he was. She smiled at him but he just lay there.

"Go ahead," the girl said. "Take it."

"No," Richard asked.

"Why not?" the girl asked. "Are you allergic?"

"No," Richard said. "But you need to eat too."

"Yes but I'm almost home and you're starving to death," the girl said. "Take it. Please."

Richard somehow managed to push himself up then took the bread. He tore off about a quarter of it and thanked her then tore his piece in half and gave half to his dog. He ate the rest fairly slowly thanks to not having the strength to chew.

At first the girl stared at the loaf Richard had given her back then stared at him. She had never met anyone who had cared more about her than themselves, or at least wanted to be courteous even when starving to death. When Richard finished she smiled and helped him to his feet.

"Come on," the girl said. "You're coming with me."

Richard didn't argue. They made their way along the road to a canyon then off the road into a place where the cliff had been separated from the ground and formed a sort of lean-to. It was big though. It was at least three football fields wide and long and about twenty feet tall at the opening. There were stone pillars everywhere.

"Welcome to my home," the girl said.

"You live here?" Richard asked.

"Yes," the girl said. "Me and my friend."

"Who the hell is he?" a boy about their age asked stepping out from behind a pillar.

"He was dying so I decided that we should help him," the girl said.

"Oh you did?" the boy asked. "Alright then. What's your name?"

"Richard," Richard said. "And this is Wolf."

"He's cute," the girl said. "I've never seen an all white husky before."

"I'm Wally," the boy said. "This is Artemis."

"Nice to meet you," Richard said.

"Nice to meet you?" Wally asked in surprise. "Where'd you say you found this guy?"

"The middle of the road," Artemis said. "Come on Richard. Let's go get you something to eat since you don't seem to fond of bread."

Richard grimaced and Wally looked questioningly at Artemis. Artemis just smiled and led Richard to the back to the gap where they had piles upon piles of food in boxes and sacks.

"Wow," Richard said.

"Would you like ham or chicken?" Artemis asked.

Richard didn't answer and just stared at the food so Artemis tossed him a chicken leg. Richard ate it, using his manners and Artemis went to talk to Wally.

"How do you know he won't steal our food?" Wally asked.

"If he was a thief," Artemis said, "He wouldn't have been starving or be using his manners now."

Wally shrugged then said, "I don't trust him. Neither should you. We should send him on his way once he's done eating."

"It's a good thing it's not your decision then isn't it?" Artemis said. "He's staying and that's final."

"No," Richard said surprising both of them. "It's okay. I don't mean to intrude. I'll leave."

He began to leave and Wolf followed.

"Good," Wally said quietly enough that Richard wouldn't hear.

"Wait!" Artemis said running out into the rain after him. "You don't have to go. You're welcome to stay. Wally's just being a jerk."

"No, it's okay," Richard said. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden," Artemis said. "Please stay."

Richard didn't answer for a moment and looked at Wolf. Wolf whined and looked toward the gap then back at Richard.

"Okay," Richard said.

Artemis smiled and they walked back inside. Wally snorted in a mixture of frustration and resentment but otherwise kept silent and walked away. Artemis sat near the entrance and traded stories. Artemis had lost her family when she was five and had run away from her orphanage when the war broke out. She had met up with Wally who had run away from an abusive family about a year earlier. They had gotten their food by stealing it and had found the gap when Wally had fallen off the cliff while climbing down and broke an arm.

"My family was killed by a soldier about a week ago," Richard said.

"Oh my God," Artemis said. "I'm so sorry. I can barely remember mine."

"I wish that were the case for me," Wally said.

Artemis was about eight months older than Richard and Wally was about five years older than her.

"My parents favorite pass time was putting my head through anything they could," Wally said. "When I ran away, everyone I asked for help slammed a door in my face. So you'll forgive me for not trusting outsiders."

Richard stared at the floor and Artemis glared at Wally.

"Get some rest Richard," Artemis said. "Tomorrow we're going out for food."

"I can't steal," Richard said. "It's wrong."

"That's okay," Artemis said. "You can distract them while me and Wally do the illegal stuff."

"Wuss," Wally said.

"Not everyone holds the law in such low regard as you," Artemis said. "Not everyone has your super speed either."

"His what?" Richard asked.

Wally ran to the mouth of the gap so fast that he left a blurred trail behind him and Richard had barely seen him move.

"Whoa," Richard said. "That's awesome."

"Do you have any special abilities?" Wally asked.

"No," Richard said. "I'm just really good at being quiet and doing gymnastics."

"Great," Wally said. "We got a silent ballerina that can't do anything special at all."

"Stop being a dick!" Artemis said standing. "I don't have any powers either, remember?"

Wally just snorted and stormed away.

"Dick," Artemis muttered.

"Yeah?" Richard asked.

Artemis raised an eyebrow then remembered that Dick was the nickname for Richard.

"I meant him," Artemis said.

"Oh," Richard said.

"So," Artemis said. "Now that he's done, you really should rest."

Richard nodded and curled into a ball on the ground. Artemis covered him with a thin wool blanket and smiled.

"Goodnight," Artemis whispered.

"Goodnight," Richard said.

Artemis smiled again then walked over to Wally.

"Why are you such a dick?" Artemis asked.

"We don't need the extra burden," Wally said. "We're having enough trouble finding enough food for ourselves."

"So?" Artemis said. "He needs our help. He can't survive alone. Are you even human at all?"

"Yes," Wally said.

"Yes," Artemis said. "But if you drive him away, you'll be no better than the people who slammed their doors in your face when you needed them."

Wally grunted and lay down facing away from her and quickly fell asleep. Artemis lay against a pillar and fell asleep just as quickly. The next morning, she and Wally were woken up by Wolf barking.

"Friggin' mutt!" Wally said picking up a rock.

"Stop!" Artemis said. "Richard can you..."

Richard's blanket was neatly folded where he had slept but Richard was gone. Wolf was barking because the constant rain had washed away any hope of tracking him.

"He snuck out without waking up Wolf," Artemis said impressed. "He'd make a good thief."

"Yeah," Wally said sarcastically. "Great. Especially since he'd sooner cut his hands off then steal."

"You could try to be nice," Artemis said. "It's your fault he left."

"How?" Wally asked.

"He heard what you said last night," Artemis said. "He left so that he wouldn't be a burden."

"Probably took some food too," Wally said.

"No," Artemis said looking at the food. "He didn't touch it. He didn't even walk toward it. His shoes were still wet and the tracks lead straight away from the food."

"Good," Wally said. "Useless brat."

Artemis glared at him then left.

"Where are you going?" Wally asked.

"To steal some food," Artemis said.

Wally sighed and followed her. When they got to the nearest house, Artemis hid by the back door and Wally knocked on the front then darted around to the back. When the owner of the house answered the door, Wally and Artemis ran inside and quietly made off with a large amount of food. As they were leaving, Wally sped off and Artemis struggled to keep up but stopped in her tracks when she heard the man at the house shout something. She turned to look back and saw him aiming a rifle at her.

Just as he puled the trigger, Richard appeared and shoved her out of the way at the same time as he threw a rock at the man. The rock had been smashed so that the edge all the way around was sharp and it was nearly as thin as paper. The rock stuck into the man's neck, killing him, but Artemis didn't notice. Richard had been hit in the shoulder by the shot that would have killed her.

"You saved me," Artemis said.

"Had to repay the debt before I left," Richard said smiling. "Besides, I didn't want you to get hurt."

"You were watching us all this time," Artemis said.

"Yes," Richard said. "I figured Wally might not be quite as loyal to you as you thought."

Artemis hugged him then pulled away and picked up the food she had dropped. Then they both went home.

* * *

THE END

Read and review.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.

* * *

Birth of a New Problem

"He didn't come back," Richard said. "He's smart."

"He took most of the food," Artemis said pointing.

"Great," Richard said. "Once I get this bullet out of my shoulder we'll worry about getting more food."

Artemis walked over and pulled out a pair of pliers. Richard groaned but lay down and clamped his mouth shut. Artemis pushed the pliers into the bullet hole then pulled the bullet out. Richard kept perfectly silent but as soon as the bullet was out he groaned.

"You have a very high pain threshold," Artemis said.

"Thanks," Richard said.

He wrapped up his shoulder then sat against the wall.

"Now what?" Artemis asked.

"I'm going to sit here until my shoulder stops hurting," Richard said. "Once that happens, we can go restock."

"You're okay with stealing?" Artemis asked.

"I'm running distraction," Richard said.

"Okay," Artemis said. "Until then, I think I'll practice."

"Practice what?" Richard asked.

"Archery," Artemis said picking up a green compound bow.

Richard smirked and Artemis pulled out a target and a quiver of arrows. She fired three arrows and got a bull's eye with each then Richard threw a sharpened rock and go it in the middle of her arrows.

"Impressive," Artemis said. "We should get you some Shuriken."

"Do I look like a ninja to you?" Richard asked.

"No," Artemis said. "Ninja don't use casts."

Richard rolled his eyes then pulled himself up. He walked over to the rear corner where Wolf was sleeping.

"Wake up boy," Richard said petting him. "Time to go get food."

"Let's go," Artemis said putting her stuff away.

Richard nodded and they all walked to Gotham. As they walked up the street, they heard a group of soldiers taking.

"Did you hear?" one soldier asked. "Bart got stabbed in the chest. Apparently he accidentally killed a couple of Civies and their brat didn't like that."

"Dang," another said. "He was the best Gotham soldier in the army."

Richard clenched his fists and he and Artemis continued. Once they were out of earshot Artemis looked at him.

"That was the one that killed your family right?" Artemis asked.

"Yes," Richard said. "I didn't mean to kill him."

They came to a fruit stand and Richard sent Wolf in first.

"Ready?" Richard asked.

Artemis pulled out a sack and nodded. Wolf grabbed one fruit then batted some more onto the ground. The owner of the fruit stand chased Wolf and Richard swept fruit into the sack. He and Artemis ran off and as they turned into an alley, the brick beside Richard's head exploded as a soldier fired.

"Run!" Artemis said.

"No duh," Richard said.

They came to a wall and stopped.

"I'll give you a boost," Richard said.

"But-" Artemis began.

"Trust me," Richard said.

Artemis stepped on his hand and he practically threw her over the wall. She looked back just as he swung his legs over the top and dropped a second before the top exploded.

"How did you-" Artemis began.

"I told you I was good at gymnastics," Richard said.

"Oh yeah," Artemis said.

They both continued running and rounded a corner just as soldiers began dropping over the wall. They ran as fast as they could and eventually the soldiers gave up chasing them. Richard and Artemis went back to their hideout and sat down heavily.

"Well that sucked," Richard said.

"Yeah," Artemis said. "At least we're alive."

"No kidding," Richard said. "Did we get anything?"

"We had a sack full of apples but..." Artemis trailed off as she pushed her hand out through a tear in the bag about the size of two footballs.

"Great," Richard said. "Where's Wolf?"

Wolf ran in and sat beside him dropping an apple into his lap.

"Good job boy," Richard said petting him. "You go ahead."

Wolf ate it then curled up in his corner. Richard sighed and picked up a rock. He held it in his injured arm and used a second rock to cut and shape it. He stopped when it was rounded on the sides with a chunk missing making it similar to an 'H' with rounded sides and a double-pointed spike forming the middle.

"Cool," Artemis said. "And you said you don't use Shuriken."

"It's a boomerang," Richard said. "It probably won't come back when it hits something but it'll work for now."

"We should probably train," Artemis said. "If those soldiers find us we'll need to fight our way out."

Richard smiled and nodded. Artemis also smiled remembering his injured arm.

"Any idea when that'll heal?" Artemis asked.

"No," Richard said. "I'm hoping soon though."

Just then they heard the sound of several hundred people marching. Artemis looked outside then returned pale.

"Soldiers," Artemis said. "Star City. Wally's with them."

"Great," Richard said. "We need to move, now."

They gathered some food then they all ran outside and to the adjacent cliff. It was perfectly flat but there were still enough cracks to climb. Wolf ran away to circle around and Richard pulled his arm out of the cast and groaned before climbing. He and Artemis made tortuously slow progress up the hill but finally reached the top. Richard groaned and slid his arm back into the cast. Then he helped Artemis ascend the rest of the way up the cliff. He turned around just as Wally's fist collided with his jaw. Wally swung again without his speed and Richard blocked it.

Wally swung three times with his speed and hit Richard all three times before Richard could react to the first. Wally swung again but this time, Richard managed to block it and tripped Wally. Wally landed on his hand and spun wiping Richard's legs out from under him. Richard landed on his back and flipped over landing on top of Wally. Wally grinned and kicked Richard between the legs four times as hard and fast as he could. Richard literally flew into the air and over the edge of the cliff but grabbed the edge and smashed into the edge. Artemis pulled him back up but just as he got onto the top again, Wally kicked her off. Artemis fell fast but the soldiers caught her saving her life.

"You son of a...ow," Richard groaned as he stood. "How much did they pay you?"

"More than you can possible imagine," Wally said. "But they didn't need to pay me that much. I was more than happy to simply get back to the easy life."

Richard moved to punch Wally but Wally kicked him squarely in the chest and launched him off of the cliff. Richard did thee back flips then crashed down hard squarely on his back. The soldiers moved over, but even as they pulled out medical kits, Richard's vision faded to black. His last thought, was the regret of not being able to save Artemis.

THE END

* * *

Read and review.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Justice League or any of the characters. I got a review in which someone picked up something in the first couple chapters that no one else did. Just so that everyone knows and no one can say I'm trying to steal it, the first couple chapters were based off of Nagato's past in Naruto Shippuden. I just thought it was cool. Before I forget, sorry that this chapter is so late. I wanted to try to get my other stories done but they just keep going so I decided to try go back to my shorter stories that I've been ignoring.

* * *

Trial By Fire

Richard groaned and opened his eyes then closed them again holding a hand up to block the blindingly bright light that had been the first thing he had seen. He groaned and sat up his back flaring in pain before dulling to a throb. He looked around and noticed that his shoulder wasn't hurting anymore. He looked down and saw that it had been cleaned and re-bandaged but when he checked it there was almost no bullet hole. A memory of his landing flashed through his mind and he twisted around wincing but clearly his back wasn't shattered like it should be.

"That's the biggest bright spot in Star City," Artemis said from her spot against the wall behind Richard. "You'll be sore for a few days but you're healed mostly. Not that it matters, we'll be executed within a day."

"Why do they want us dead?" Richard asked.

"Apparently someone's been stealing jewels in Star City and the Good Samaritan Wally lead the soldiers to the culprits," Artemis said.

"I see," Richard said turning around then instantly spinning back around blushing.

He looked down and noticed something he really should have noticed before. The only thing he was wearing were his boxers. Artemis was in only her panties and bra.

"Are they going to give us back our clothes before we get killed?" Richard asked.

"Once they finish looking for the evidence they want yes," Artemis said.

"And when they don't find it?" Richard asked.

"They'll plant it," Artemis said. "For example, if a priceless brooch was taken, they would pin a worthless fake to my shirt so that the citizens would believe they got the right person."

"They don't care if they catch the real thief?" Richard asked.

"Not as long as the citizens are happy," Artemis said. "Here they come."

A moment later a door opened in the side of the room and their clothes were thrown through. Then the door closed and Richard stared at the pile of clothing. There was more gold and jewels than there was fabric. The gold was, of course, fool's gold and the jewels were simply stained glass. Richard put his clothes on and held Artemis's clothes out to her while keeping his eyes closed. Artemis took the clothes and pulled them on then sighed.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now," Artemis said.

Richard opened his eyes and looked at the door.

"Don't waste your energy trying to escape," Artemis said. "They'll have thirty three guards outside the door and five at every door out of here. We're in the most secure prison in the city. There's no way we'll be able to fight our way out no matter what we do."

Richard's face fell and he sat against the wall across from the door. They waited in silence for several hours until the door finally opened and armed guards marched in leveling their guns at them. Richard pushed himself up and a soldier stepped forward and put his hands in heavy iron shackles with a chain leading to a second pair that only stretched about four feet. They put Artemis in the other pair then they attached a second chain to the middle of the one connecting the shackles and began to lead Richard and Artemis out of the room. They walked through a hall with a thick iron door every few meters and exactly thirty three guards outside each. When they reached a series of doors leading out to the street, there were five guards at each door and each door took a different key.

When they reached the street, the citizens were lining the street trying to get a look at the soon to be dead robbers. When they arrived confused and nervous murmurs ran through the crowd but they quieted as a chariot pulled by a horse rumbled to a stop and Richard and Artemis were pushed into it. The chariot began moving and the citizens watched in silence and followed them once they had moved past. Artemis looked around and sighed and seemed to be fighting a memory.

"See that big building?" Artemis asked nodding in the direction of a huge building with more glass than stone. "That's the biggest bank in the city. If they're executing children, that's the building that was broken into."

"I see," Richard said seeing a small broken down building that was the only wooden building around. "And that one?"

"That one belongs to two people that were convicted of being serial killers and notorious bank robbers," Artemis said. "They were executed about six years ago."

"Your parents," Richard said. "You're from Star City."

"I...how did you know?" Artemis asked.

"You knew too much about the city to not have lived here at one time," Richard said. "I'm betting that you were taken to visit your parents or went to visit them alone while they were being held in the same prison as us. You knew about the bank which means that's the one your parents were convicted of robbing, and that house would have to have been yours since it's the only one here that no one's bothered to keep inhabitable. Guess that means we're supposed to be enemies huh?"

"Guess so," Artemis said grinning. "Oh well."

The chariot finally rumbled to a stop in a fairly large square room and the soldiers practically dragged them off and removed the shackles. Then they handed Artemis her bow and one arrow and gave Richard a titanium bo staff. He liked the staff but preferred to not have to get up close to anyone if he was in a fight. Then a door in the side of the room opened and they were pushed out. They glanced at each other then walked out into a coliseum that was about fifty feet across with walls fifty feet high on each side. There were several hundred thousand civilians in stands as well as exactly two armed men. One Richard was able to guess was the head of the City's army or possible the Leader of the City. The other was an archer around their age dressed completely in red. He had a red recurve bow and a red short-sleeved shirt, yellow gloves, a yellow sixteenth century style hat with a red feather sticking up on the side, a yellow belt and shoulder strap for his belt, and yellow boots. His quiver was in the middle of his back and filled to the point of nearly breaking with arrows tipped in red feathers.

"Welcome," the man Richard believed was in charge said. "I am the head general for Star City's army. Welcome to my play pen, of sorts. Now, originally I had intended to simply execute you two for stealing the things you now wear. However, it would seem that our favorite wanted little girl has returned to us and has also taken a liking to you. Therefore, I've decided that one of you will be allowed to live and it will be your choice who. All you have to do is kill the other. Richard, you are not from our city and have recently lost your parents. It's not fair that Artemis's old crime drag you down. All you need do is kill her and your problem is solved. You'll be free to go."

"What do you mean her old crime?" Richard asked.

"Ask her yourself," the general said.

Richard turned toward Artemis and saw a very guilty look on her face.

"I was young and not brave enough to leave the city," Artemis said. "I didn't think anyone would ever be able to figure out that it was me. And I never meant for you to be caught up in it. Honest!"

"What did you do?" Richard asked.

"I was starving," Artemis said. "I couldn't find any food and didn't want to steal food so...I stole a lot of money in gold and jewels. I didn't understand that I was stealing from the same bank my parents had but I was locked up in the same prison we were. As they were getting ready to execute me, Wally broke in and rescued me then we left and I hadn't been back since, until now."

"So when they came for us, it wasn't because someone had stolen from them recently it was because Wally willingly told them where you were for money," Richard said. "I'm here because of you."

"Yes," Artemis said on the verge of tears.

Richard looked down and saw the only rock in the stadium. He picked it up and used his staff to break it into three razor sharp disks then looked at Artemis and sighed.

"You know," Robin said. "I was really hoping we could break out of here and go home. But, I guess that isn't going to happen is it?"

"No," Artemis said drawing her arrow and aiming at Richard's heart.

"You know you don't have to do this," Richard said. "If we just stand here neither of us will die."

"The general will just shoot us both," Artemis said. "I'm so sorry I dragged you into this."

"It's alright," Richard said. "Shoot."

Artemis nodded then switched to aiming at the general and fired before anyone had even realized she had moved. Her arrow flew straight but the archer serving the general fired one of his own and it knocked hers out of the air, both clattering to the ground in front of him. Before his first arrow had even hit hers, he fired a second at the back of her scull in what would be a fatal shot but Richard smashed it out of the air with his bo staff then threw his three disks at the archer. Artemis looked around in time to see the archer spin his bow like a staff and the disks stuck into it.

"Not bad," Richard said. "Artemis, run."

She glanced toward the door but soldiers were already streaming out and Wally was walking out from the middle of their ranks completely calm and wearing the same camouflage uniform as the soldiers.

"Wally," Artemis said.

"I have a suggestion General," Richard said. "We'll fight Wally and if we win we're both free to go."

"Fine," the general said. "We have a deal."

Wally grinned and sprinted forward. He ran straight past Artemis at Richard and Richard began spinning his bo staff. He knew there was no way he would beat Wally from a distance so he glad they gave him the staff. Wally threw a punch meaning to hit him before the staff could hit his arm but Richard sped up how fast he was spinning it and it smashed into Wally's arm effectively breaking it. Wally instantly grabbed the staff and spun throwing Richard away but keeping the staff. Richard pushed himself up just as Wally smashed the bo staff into his stomach. Richard doubled over then flipped forward onto his hands and smashed the bottom of his foot into Wally's nose then flipped back onto his feet picking up his bo staff. He grinned and Wally stumbled back glaring at him.

"Now then," Richard said. "I think it's time to bow out."

He charged at Wally who seemed surprised but ducked under Richard's bo staff and stood again just as Richard spun smashing the other end of the staff into the side of his face sending him flying into the wall where he fell unconscious.

"Impressive," the general said. "Kill them."

Then, the soldiers all opened fire. Richard's mind instantly went fuzzy when they did and he wasn't sure how but one second he was pulling Artemis off the ground and the next he was running down a hall with her in his arms and his now bloody bo staff in a death grip under her ready to be swung. He could hear shouts and gunfire behind him but kept running and after a few moments, he was in the street running through the city as bullets exploded of the street near him and his left shoulder exploded in pain. He somehow kept going and after a few more minutes they were out.

He was forced to slow by exhaustion and blood loss making him lightheaded and his vision blurred. Finally, he stopped in an abandoned shack and looked at Artemis. She had been shot, that much was obvious, but the location of the bullet was uncertain. She was so bloody that he could barely tell her clothes from her skin and he was praying that the bullet was only in her stomach. Then she might live.

He looked around and saw a sink and miraculously there was still enough electricity for fresh water to come out when he put a bucket under it and turned the nob. He filled the bucket most of the way and then got a glass from a half-destroyed cabinet and walked back over to Artemis. He set the bucket down and began to use the glass to wash away the blood until he found where the bullet hole was by where the blood came from. He was in luck. It was in the side of her stomach and the exit hole was in the back. The bullet had gone straight through barely doing any damage at all but she was still bleeding heavily. He bandaged and wrapped her wound then he finished washing the blood off and picked her back up. He grabbed his bo staff and continued walking along the road toward Gotham.

He knew that the guards there would likely kill them on sight for stealing the apples that day but he also knew that even Gotham had to be safer than Star City at the moment. After almost a day of carrying Artemis, he reached their cave and saw that the last of their food had been taken leaving the cave empty and revealing a small hole beside a fairly small boulder that he could probably move with both hands. The hole, from what he could see, at least lead into a small tunnel that could be crawled through but when he crawled into it, he saw that it was a large cavern. He pulled Artemis into it and then pulled the boulder into place blocking the entrance but when he looked up he saw that there was a fairly large opening in the side that led outside . There was water running from somewhere above them and formed a waterfall that made it impossible to hear anything happening in the cave from outside but inside the cave it was fairly quiet. The water trickled down into a small spring inside the cave and that had a good size tunnel on the bottom leading out toward the outside but Richard didn't plan on finding out how long the tunnel was.

He sighed quietly and set Artemis against the wall then sat next to her. He was worried to say the least and was terrified that she had already lost too much blood but as the day turned into evening, she began to slowly regain some color. As evening turned to night, Richard tried his best to stay awake to keep watch for soldiers or Wally so that he could keep Artemis safe but around midnight his eyelids began to droop. Finally, his head fell and he began to sleep lightly still partially listening for any threat. The moment the rays of light shone through the waterfall into his eyes, Richard woke up and held a hand up to shield his eyes. He looked down and saw that Artemis now looked a tiny bit pale and needed her bandages changed but aside from that she looked healthy. He pulled out the last of the bandages and undid Artemis's then re-wrapped her wound. Then he stood and walked over to the waterfall looking outside as best he could.

He couldn't see anyone but he didn't go outside yet. Instead, he returned to Artemis and sat down brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then there was a loud crash of water as Wolf leapt through the waterfall. He blinked in surprise then smiled. Then his smile faltered as he realized that Wolf was now at least one and a half times the size he had been when Richard had last seen him. He also looked thin but not as bad as when they had first met.

"How long were we in prison?" Richard asked himself as Wolf lay beside him.

"About four months," Artemis said sitting up. "You were in a coma after your fall."

"Oh," Richard said. "You think the Gotham soldiers have forgotten about us?"

"I hope so because the Star City ones sure haven't," Artemis said grinning.

"True," Richard said.

"Are you okay?" Artemis asked suddenly worried. "You're really pale and coated in blood."

"The blood's yours," Richard said. "I had to carry you after you were shot."

"No, I mean on your back and the wall," Artemis said.

Richard tried to push himself away from the wall and twist to look but his left shoulder suddenly hurt and he remembered being shot while running away.

"I think I was tagged," Richard said.

"Let me see," Artemis said as Richard spun to sit back to her.

He heard her go silent and suspected it was bad but her next words made what he had been expecting seem like a paper cut.

"It's infected," Artemis said. "I need to remove the bullet and infected tissue."

Richard nodded and lay on his stomach and Wolf cocked his head at them. Artemis knelt beside Richard after retrieving pliers and a knife from her pack. Then she pushed the pliers in and pulled the bullet out. Again, Richard didn't make a sound. But that was fine, the next part was the one that would hurt the most.

"Are you ready?" Artemis asked.

"Are you trying to make it sound dirty?" Richard asked grinning up at her.

"Pervert," Artemis said.

Richard's grin grew then he closed his eyes and nodded. Artemis took a deep breath then began to cut the infected tissue out. It wasn't easy by any definition of the word and she could see the strain on Richard's face from him trying to hold still and not make a sound. After what seemed like forever, she had finished removing the infected tissue and looked around for a bandage.

"None left," Richard said. "You needed it more than me at the moment."

Artemis looked around and suddenly realize she didn't recognize the cave.

"Where are we?" Artemis asked.

"A cave in the back of our home," Richard said. "That tunnel leads to the front."

Artemis couldn't have been happier with his reply. She went to the tunnel and pushed the rock out of the way then went to a hidden stash of bandages she had kept secret even from Wally. Then she went back to Richard making sure to seal the entrance. She bandaged his wound as best she could then helped him sit up against a clean part of the cave wall where there wasn't dry blood. Wolf lay his head on Richard's lap and Richard smiled.

"So," Richard said. "How long do you think until this heals?"

"Depends," Artemis said. "Did you remove the bug that Star City implanted in us?"

"Bug?" Richard asked.

"That's the reason you healed so quickly from the fall," Artemis said. "I know it took you four months and all but it should have taken you years, assuming you survived at all."

"Let me guess," Richard said. "They also have tracking devices.

"Bingo," Artemis said. "You should be healed in about four hours and I should be finished healing in about one."

Richard nodded and then a thought occurred to him.

"If these have tracking devices, why haven't they found us yet?" Richard asked.

"Well," Artemis said looking around. "Probably because this cave blocks the signals from escaping."

"Oh," Richard said. "Either way, if I have to wait four hours before I'm done healing, I'm going to go to sleep."

"Hold on," Artemis said and Richard looked at her. "There's something I want to know first. Why did you defend me even after I nearly got you executed?"

"Because I don't care what you've done," Richard said. "After my family died, you were my f...okay second friend. First human one. No matter what you did, you saved my life. I couldn't just let you be executed and I certainly couldn't just kill you. I care about you too much."

Artemis blinked in surprise then grinned seeing Richard's face starting to turn pink.

"As a friend?" Artemis asked clearly meaning "or more".

And just like that, Richard's face was beet red. He tried and failed to think of anything he could say to get out of the conversation so instead he looked over at Wolf and said fish. Wolf ran out through the waterfall and up the mountain then a moment later returned carrying a freshly caught and still alive fish.

"Neat trick," Artemis said deciding to let Richard off the hook. "How about apple?"

Wolf took off again and this time was gone for quite a while before returning dragging a burlap sack full of apples.

"Now where do you suppose he got that?" Richard asked.

"No idea," Artemis said tossing Wolf an apple. "Good boy."

Richard yawned still tired from carrying Artemis out of Star City and back to their cave without resting any longer than to bandage her wound. He closed his eyes and the next thing he knew, Artemis was shaking his shoulder to tell him that the fish was ready. He yawned and sat up then looked at the back of his shoulder as best he could. There were no longer any bandages.

"You're finished healing," Artemis said. "You've been asleep for a few hours. After we eat we'll need to remove and destroy the bugs then decide where to go next."

Richard agreed and boned the fish then gave half to Artemis and half of his own to Wolf. Artemis wasn't sure why he did that when there was a sack full of apples but didn't say anything about it. They ate in silence and once they were finished Richard sat against the wall again.

"Why did you give half of your food to Wolf?" Artemis asked. "There's an entire sack of apples he could eat."

"True," Richard said. "But he's the one who caught the fish so I figured he earned it."

"I suppose," Artemis said. "So, what do we do now?"

"I think getting some food would be smart but at the same time I think that we should look into not being recognized," Richard said.

"Good idea," Artemis said. "And I think we should probably get ready."

"Ready for what?" Robin asked.

"War," Artemis said. "The two cities are preparing to tear each other apart. We'll need to pick a side if we ever hope to survive."

"I hate Gotham and blame them for my parents' deaths but given that Star City would kill us both on sight..." Richard trailed off and Artemis smirked and nodded.

"Then let's go join our city," Artemis said.

THE END

* * *

Read and review


End file.
